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Observations from today’s readings and today’s S-WOD, Saturday, 31 January 2026:
Note: See this video summary on Job: https://youtu.be/GswSg2ohqmA
Job 1:1-5 — There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job….
The book opens by grounding the story in moral reality before introducing suffering. Job is described as blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil. This does not mean sinless perfection, but wholehearted integrity. Job’s life is oriented toward God, not divided between devotion and compromise. Scripture is careful to establish this first so that what follows cannot be misread as punishment for hidden wickedness. From the outset, the text dismantles the simplistic equation that suffering equals guilt.
Job’s wealth, family, and influence are presented as blessings, not as his identity. He is prosperous, but prosperity is not his god. The clearest evidence is found not in his possessions but in his private piety. Job regularly intercedes for his children, offering sacrifices “according to the number of them all.” His concern is not merely outward behavior but the condition of the heart. He understands that sin is not only what is done openly but what may be cherished inwardly. This anticipates the New Testament’s insistence that true righteousness begins in the heart, not merely in visible conduct.
Already we see a critical biblical pattern: faithfulness does not eliminate vulnerability. Job is righteous, and Job is exposed. Obedience is not a hedge against suffering; it is often the context in which suffering becomes most revealing.
The one who fears God turns away from evil.
Job glorified God with his life. His obedience and integrity were the product and evidence of his love for the Lord. However, Satan challenged his motives: was he obedient because he genuinely loved the Lord, or was he obedient merely because he wanted blessings from the Lord? Did Job love God, or what God did for him? If God took everything away from Job, would Job love God just the same?
In Luke, Jesus explains that his followers are obedient: “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.” But then he chastises the Pharisees for their false “obedience” that came from wrong motives – pride, self-centeredness, and self-righteousness.
Why do we do what we do? What motivates our behavior – fear, pride, jealousy, anger, greed, or is it love? Men see our outward actions, but the Bible says that the Lord “tests the heart.” (Proverbs 17:3, 1 Thes 2:4) When I look at myself, I know that I have all the character traits of a child – it’s a growth process, and Dad teaches us along the way. I have to listen intently to my Father and work to obey Him as best as I can today. My love is growing stronger every day and the fear is diminishing, but it has not vanished. “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.” (1 John 4:18) None of us are perfected in love and free of fear and pride, but we should strive for increased love and confidence in Jesus.
Job 1:5 – …he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all.
Godly people are characterized by prayerfulness. Job never stopped praying for his family. To describe the holiness of Job, the Bible comments on his obedience and his prayer life. What does your prayer life reveal about your actual relationship with God and your holiness?
Job 1:6-12 — Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord….
The scene shifts from earth to heaven, revealing a reality Job himself cannot see. This is one of the most sobering transitions in Scripture. While Job lives faithfully in the visible world, a conversation unfolds in the unseen realm that will profoundly affect his life.
Satan appears not as an equal rival to God, but as a subordinate creature who must present himself before the Lord. He cannot act independently. He must speak, answer, and receive permission. This alone corrects many modern distortions about evil. Satan is real, malicious, and active, but never sovereign.
God initiates the discussion by pointing to Job. This is crucial. Satan does not discover Job; God highlights him. Job’s life is not overlooked by heaven. Faithfulness is seen, named, and valued by God, even when it later appears to cost everything.
Satan’s accusation cuts to the core of human motivation: Does Job fear God for nothing? He argues that Job’s obedience is transactional, sustained only by blessing. Remove the gifts, and the devotion will collapse. This is not merely an attack on Job; it is an accusation against the very possibility of genuine love for God. Satan suggests that no one truly loves God for who He is — only for what He gives.
God permits the test, but with clear boundaries. Satan may touch Job’s possessions, but not his person. Evil is allowed, but it is restrained. The limits matter. They remind us that suffering, however severe, is never ungoverned. What Satan intends for destruction, God allows for purposes Satan neither understands nor controls.
- 1 Corinthians 10:13 — No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
This anticipates the gospel logic fulfilled in Christ. The cross itself is the ultimate example of evil operating freely within divinely set limits, accomplishing redemption rather than defeat.
Job 1:9, 10 — Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “Does Job fear God for no reason? Have you not put a hedge around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.”
These verses reveal that God does, in fact, put a hedge of protection around His people, but He might also open us up to challenges for His purposes. Satan questioned whether Job truly loved God or merely the blessings of God. If God took all the blessings away, would you still love Him the same? How about you? What is required for you to truly love God? What circumstances might cause you to question God’s love for you and become disobedient?
- 1 Thessalonians 5:18 — …give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
Job 1:13-19 — Now there was a day when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking….
The calamities fall with relentless speed. The structure of the narrative matters. Disaster does not come gradually; it comes in waves, without time to process or recover. Loss follows loss before Job can even respond. Property, livelihood, servants, children, everything is stripped away.
The messengers arrive one after another, each story worse than the last. Human violence, natural disaster, and what appears to be random catastrophe all converge. The text refuses to reduce suffering to a single cause. Evil, nature, and human sin are all involved, yet none of them explain the deeper “why.”
This is important pastorally and theologically. Scripture does not offer Job a tidy explanation, and neither should we. When suffering is raw, explanation often wounds rather than heals. The book of Job will insist that wisdom begins not with answers, but with reverence and trust. When we question our circumstances, we are ultimately questioning God, and when we question God, we are making judgements about His character. How we respond to circumstances reveals what we think about God and what we think He thinks about us.
Job 1:13-19 — “…and I alone have escaped to tell you.”
Many died tragically at the hands of Satan, ultimately to fulfill God’s purposes. From our perspective, we tend to place man’s desires and lives supreme over God’s purposes, but God has a higher plan in which we all play a part; this is almost impossible to understand. Some tragedies are simply unfathomable, and in those times, God might seem distant or silent. This is when faith and trust are required, faith and trust based upon our confidence in God’s character, word, and promises over our very limited perceptions.
- Romans 8:28-29 — And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.
Job 1:20-22 — Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. And he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.
Job’s response is neither denial nor stoicism. He grieves fully. Tearing his robe and shaving his head are expressions of real anguish. Faith does not suppress sorrow; it sanctifies it. Scripture never rebukes Job for mourning. What distinguishes him is not the absence of pain, but the direction of his pain.
Job acknowledges the truth that undergirds everything: he came into the world with nothing, and he will leave it the same way. Everything in between is gift. “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away” is not fatalism; it is sovereignty embraced without bitterness. Job does not attribute evil to God, but he does not deny God’s authority over his life.
In terrible, unexplainable calamity, Job worshipped God and did not blame Him. This does not mean Job understands. It means he trusts. Faith here is not clarity; it is allegiance. Job clings to God without answers, without explanations, and without visible reward.
This points directly to Christ. Jesus, the truly innocent sufferer, entrusts Himself to the Father in the face of unjust loss, crying out in anguish yet remaining faithful. Job is not the redeemer, but he is a shadow of the kind of faith that ultimately finds its fulfillment in the Son.
- Mark 14:36 — And he said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”
“Cross” Fit S-WOD (Spiritual Workout of the Day) — 31 January 2026: Examine what your faith is anchored to when comfort is removed. Ask honestly: Is my devotion to God sustained by what He gives, or by who He is? Choose one deliberate act of trust today that does not depend on circumstances — worship in loss, obedience without reward, or prayer without answers.
Pray: “Father, You see what I cannot see and govern what I cannot control. Teach me to trust You not only when You give, but when You take away. Guard my heart from transactional faith and deepen my love for You beyond outcomes and explanations. When suffering comes suddenly and clarity feels absent, anchor me in Your character. Shape me into someone who grieves honestly, worships faithfully, and entrusts everything to You. Thank You for Christ, the innocent sufferer who secures my hope even when I do not understand. In Jesus’ name, amen.”
Defenders Bible Reading Plan 